lockdown : vinyl find #12.

It starts like in a movie. You're walking in a lobby, hearing a very light melody, then the door opens and the music gets louder. Time to enter in a different world... 

This album is about Brittany. The sleeve is written in Breton, the songs are sung in Breton, and apart from the address of the record label, there's no clue of a French origin. This tells you a lot about the motivations of the authors. 

Although labelled as the work of Kristen Noguès, this album seems to be a real team effort, under the wing of the label Nevenoe, which apparently promoted Britanny's culture (if not more).. They were activists. And this album is an artistic and political statement. 

I found it in a second-hand store in Brussels (again). I wasn't particularly attracted by the burdungy colour of the sleeve. I didn't know who Kristen Noguès was (but a guy is making a thesis about her), nor did I know the language used on the cover. But I noticed the address of the record label, located in Brittany. I could connect the dots... There are a lot of Celtic records in France, due to the fame of Dan Ar Braz, Tri Yann and a few other bands, and I usually don't buy these records. But something looked different about this one. And oh boy, I was right... 

The B side, for example, starts on a almost Arabic note... there's a sense of tenderness all along the album, which shouldn't be a surprise, with Noguès' background as a harp player. But strangely, despite being a prominent harpist, and photographed with a harp on the cover, she's not credited as playing any harp on the record. 

When diving into the credits, the oriental touch (though Persian and not Arabic) makes sense, as a zarb, an Iranian drum instrument, is used. No other drum is used, mostly strings and horns, but nothing like a common Celtic record ; don't expect bagpipes and binious, there's none. 

And that's what makes this record different. Sweet and comforting. 

Kristen Noguès - Marc'h gouez.

 
Here's this (too) short album, in full.